Yesterday evening, the town of Amherst, MA (population 37, 819) voted to eliminate polystyrene foam food containers in its restaurants. The bylaw cited health concerns (styrene is a likely carcinogen) in addition to decreasing landfill space for a material that never degrades.

Read the town meeting results here (scroll to Article 9 to see the EPS foam bylaw). The bylaw goes into effect on January 1, 2014.

Earlier this month, the town of Brookline, MA also banned foam takeout containers, in addition to becoming the first MA city to ban plastic bags. Read more on our blog.